When asked which sport between football and basketball was his first love, ADM junior Blake Crannell said he isn’t sure – he loves playing them both too much to choose.

In ADM football’s 28-24 win over Norwalk on Oct. 17, Crannell was running open for a wheel route before crumpling to the ground on a non-contact play. He said he immediately knew something was torn, and he was right. Crannell had torn his ACL, which served as a double blow: he would not only miss the final regular season football game and the ensuing playoff game, but also the entire basketball season.

For Crannell, who lead the football Tigers with 380 yards rushing, the most difficult part was not being able to help either team.

“Oh yeah, it wasn’t anything I would wish upon anyone,” he said. “It kind of sucks having to sit out and watch your teammates play.”

Physically, Crannell said the first month of rehab was the most difficult because of how painful it was to get back the bending motion in his knee. Now he rides a stationary bike before every therapy session and can engage in other “non-explosive” physical activities, such as shooting jumpers and light jumping.

Crannell said he’s also working with his therapist to build up the strength in his quads and hamstrings, and to get his “hips rotating the way they should be again.” In two weeks, he’ll be allowed to start running in a straight line. All signs to Crannell being fully healthy by April, which is ahead of schedule.

So with the hardest part behind him, what is Crannell’s biggest hurdle now?

“Waiting. Waiting for the right time for the right time to start running and moving around like I used to be able to do,” he said.

Crannell said his teammates and coaches have been very supportive, telling him they could have used his good perimeter shooting this past basketball season. Head coach Aaron Mager described that sharp-shooting ability as Crannell’s best attribute.

“Well I think what he brings to the table instantly is just another quality athlete. I mean he’s a good kid, he’s a competitive kid, he’s coachable,” Mager said. “I think he would have improved as the season progresses. This would have been his first year of varsity experience. He played JV last year and was a pretty solid JV player. arguably the best player on JV at times last year, so you always look for that kid to take that next leap forward when they go to the varsity level.”

As with any athlete, rehabbing from a major injury is difficult. Crannell said he believes it will only make him better.

“It’s making me work harder, actually,” he said. “In basketball I’ve been getting up shots every day, and I think that’s definitely going to help my shooting for next year and how I play. And I expect the same for football next year, too, to work extra hard this summer to get back in shape, and that’ll help for the season.”